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A leading desktop company’s advertisement pre-empts our youngsters to “Hint a Gift” to parents. Friends and office colleagues drop names of the brand to the bemused father. At a Diwali party, his friends again drop the name of the desktop brand. A surprised dad asks son “I never got you this brand!!!”. The son replies proudly “So what Diwali is tomorrow, you can still buy it for me!!” The son and his friends break in to triumphant celebration as the father gives an embarrassing smile.

Marketers probably want us to believe that asking for a gift from parents is the constitutional birth right of children.

“Bachhpan Khel Main Khoya, Ladakpan neend bhar soya, Budhapaa dekh kar roya” so goes an old Bollywood ditty; But in today’s times would we be good enough parents, if we were to abide by these age old clichés or the drivel that marketers thrust down our throats?

Fortunately, unlike the “reel” life, in our real life, teenagers can be starkly different as 15 year old Sara Jain, from Mumbai’s Villa Theresa Convent School so proves. Sara’s parents; Rajesh Jain, (a wealth manager) and Sangita Jain, (a doctor), have stayed away from the infamous parental guilt trap, that our kids lure us into, by complaining that they no longer feel “cool” or “happening” in their immediate social circles.

While teens and their parents never see eye to eye, there is one thing that Sara and her parents readily agree and that is, the best gift she has ever got from them is the gift of Shares!

Through these years, as she watched a young princess Merida in “Brave” or celebrated her birthday at Mcdonald’s, she knew that the value of her gift is going up. She doesn’t have to sit down and understand the technical charts to understand it.

Yes, Fellow Gruhinis, shares or stocks are the best gift you could ever give to your teenagers!

Warren Buffet, the legendary investor and the World’s richest man once stated that ‘I try to buy stock in businesses that are so wonderful that an idiot can run them. Because sooner or later, one will”

Think about it, there can’t be a better way of immersing your child into the world of investments, than by buying them shares of companies that they know, use and love!

Like Sara’s parent do it, your teenager can be gifted a share of a familiar company. If your daughter rides a scooter of a particular brand, gift her shares of the company that owns the brand or gift your son shares of the company which you work for. He will know that if its price goes up, dad’s company will benefit. You can make a beginning with stocks of brands they are familiar with.

If your teen is too old to be swayed by a Walt Disney, you can “lure” him/her by citing examples of celebrities such as Justin Timberlake, Lady Gaga, and Ashton Kutcher who have invested in shares of various start-up companies, and earned millions through this route. It will surely be better than the image of the old uncleji share-broker that your teen have had in mind!! (click here to read about it)

Ownership of a share will give your teen a sense of responsibility instead of just demanding gifts whenever he or she wants. They will understand how wealth is created, how it can go up and down. Last but not the least, they will develop patience to see something grow over a period of time.

Dear Gruhinis, I know what you’re thinking! That the stock market is a gambler’s den and so on. But you have to trust your Gyani Gruhini on this! Don’t give your young ones full access to the share trading account. Keep sufficient checks and balances in place. Let them monitor the share price everyday through simplistic tools such as Google Finance (google.com/finance) and let them understand simple things like a red graph means erosion of wealth and a green graph means increase in wealth.

The Great Gruhini’s Guide to Gifting Shares:

1) First, obtain a Permanent Account Number (PAN) for your teenager.

2) Second, open a share trading and a demat account in their name, preferably with your bank. As per the rules, either parent can be the guardian and can monitor the demat account on behalf of the minor.

3) Third, help them monitor it on regular basis. Once they are 18, the demat account can be closed or you can fill up requisite forms to convert the existing minor account into a major’s account.

We all love our kids, and nothing pleases us more than the smile on their face, when they love the gift that we have chosen for them. Why not, this Diwali, give them “a gift that keeps on giving”; the gift of shares!!

The Great Gruhini wishes you and your loved ones, a very Happy and Prosperous Diwali!!

Feel free to ask any questions by emailing me at thegreatgruhini@gmail.com

About Rachna Monga Koppikar

Rachna aka your Great Gruhini is a finance writer with over a decade's experience in writing about personal finance matters with leading financial publications of India. As she studies to be a certified financial planner, she is also on a mission to make every woman a money savvy individual.
So shed your inhibitions. Get over your money worries with The Great Gruhini. Write to her at thegreatgruhini@gmail.com